Category Archives: Area Photos

While I’m on the marketing kick and pictures, it also bothers me to no end, how someone can leave outdated pictures on a site and expect to sell the home for it’s best price…even in Tenafly. A case in point is when Realtors get a listing in the fall when there are no leaves on the trees, but keep the same pictures on the site through the summer.

Does anyone believe that this goes unnoticed by viewers, and that it doesn’t give a negative impression of the home and the price?

This is just another reason why homes sell for less than they should and why they take longer to sell.

There is something good that comes from this…in a few months the leaves will start falling again and the agent won’t have to spend the money on new pictures…until next spring, when the home is still for sale!

The east hill in Tenafly is on fire with new home construction…and they’re your run of the mill average homes. These ultra luxury homes are anywhere from 6,000-9,000sf + on one acre…with values ranging from $3.0-$4.5 million.

And luckily for us taxpayers, the tax increases for these homes compared to the older homes that were knocked down is a whopped…a 50-100% increase in property taxes per new home.

The tax increase from new home construction is something that the Tenafly School board doesn’t talk openly about. They like to hide this new found money, so they can still go for their yearly tax increases.

Like I said on previous post regarding the housing market in Tenafly…IT’S HOT!

You can see more of Churchill Rd on google earth and bing.com (I find bing to be the best for viewing streets and homes)

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Churchill has been one of the most sought after streets on the east hill

All of the properties are one +- acres

One new home being built by the owner is massive

The slope of the street starting at Woodland can rival any ski run in the Poconos

Kids don’t play outside on the street because of the slope, and because the cars travel pretty fast

Lots of elementary school age kids, and it’s a short walk to the Smith Elementary School…also a lot of middle and high school kids as well

15 homes have been sold since 2000…and 12 homes homes were knocked down and replaced with new homes (we all thank you for paying such insanely high taxes)

The home are mostly very modern colonials, and there’s even a new ultra modern home mixed in…flat roof and straight angles

All of the new homes are amazingly landscaped and most have pools

Several ranch homes were purchased and renovated…and look great

One home is for sale…it’s a knockdown

The average property tax for new homes on Churchill are in the $60k+ range

Probably the second most expensive street in Tenafly…along with Oxford

There’s also a nature preserve between Woodland and Oxford

The average new home is in the 6,00o-10,000+ sf range…plus a finished basement

Chart definitions:
• The town/state where the buyer is from
• Date is when the home was sold
• Green = Price decrease from present asking
• Red = Price increase from present asking
• Black = sold at present asking price
• BR/FB/HB…bedrooms/full baths/half baths
• All data is from the njmls data base and is available to all member Realtors

Super high property taxes in Tenafly may get you a new $5 million police station, some new cop cars every year, a huge Department of Public Works with lots of trucks, and a well maintained football field next to the middle school…but what it doesn’t get the kids are playable soccer and baseball fields at the schools.

Tenafly Middle School fieldStillman Elementary School field

It’s embarrassing for what we pay that we have to put up with playing fields that look disgusting and are at times dangerous to play on.

And furthermore, it’s incredibly embarrassing to hear the parents from other towns who’s kids play here at times, when they make comments how horrible our fields are. They literally laugh at us. Who can blame them!

With a $55+ million annual school budget, Tenafly’s School Board ignores the problems and fails to maintain our schools properties. And this goes a long way to hurt the value of surrounding properties…who wants to look and live near something so ugly.

And it’s not a problem where there isn’t an easy solution. All it takes is to spread some dirt, roll out the sod and water it.

As I mentioned in a previous post, P Diddy’s ultra luxury mansion is for sale in Alpine, and I was wondering if his home or any celebrities home was worth more…or a lot more because it’s owned by someone famous.

I just came across a piece in the Huffington Post… Celebrity home prices not seeing a boost from their famous owners… that kind of told me what I had already suspected…celebrities face the same problems that everyone faces when trying to sell their home…the housing crash has touched evey person in the country. And even rich people go for the kill when buying a new home (unless you’re Ryan Seacrest…and go figure that one).

Which leads me back to P Diddy’s home that is listed for $12 million. Can this home be worth anywhere close to the asking price. Sooner or later we’ll all see…when it finally sells But hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.

My only comment is…why can’t we have something like Wegmans in Tenafly? Tenafly is stuck with one of the worst supermarkets imaginable…Stop & Shop…which looks as bad on the inside as it does on the outside. Everything from the shelves not being filled (are they staying in business?), to disgusting carts, floors, and the thinnest bags imaginable (you need to double up on everything because they’re so thin). The only thing good about the store are the people who work there.

It’s a disgusting looking retail strip center, and an embarrassment to Tenafly.

The proposed Hudson Lights project and the already approved “yet to be named” twin towers: A view from space

The two new projects that will be started in Ft Lee this year offer some exciting opportunities for the surrounding communities. Yes it’s going to be a bit of a pain while the construction is taking place, but once everything is completed everyone (even in Tenafly) will benefit from this enhancement:

The eyesore that we’ve all lived with for 20+ years will now become an iconic looking project. No one can deny that that this isn’t an amazing upgrade for Ft Lee and all of New Jersey

If they’re smart, and upgrade their businesses, the area retails will have an influx of people to fill their stores. And if they don’t take advantage of this opportunity, they have no one else to blame but themselves

The area restaurants will see a boom in their business…the delivery business should go wild. And this isn’t just for Ft Lee…this is going to benefit the entire area

1500+- new apartments will be filled with people (2000-3000 people?) from all over the region and these people will shop and dine here

New retail creates better existing retail…only if they have what people are looking for. And now the retailers will have to compete with the new project, so it’s not going to be a guarantee. They will have to work it if they want to be successful

New employment opportunities will exist. This is a huge plus

Contrary to popular opinion…traffic patterns and timing should actually get better because of the proposed upgrades

The residential rental business will boom for everyone…not just for the new projects

There will defiantly be some bumps in the road (no pun intended) throughout the construction process, but that’s to be expected. Just get these projects underway and completed as soon as humanly possible, so we can all start enjoying the benefits.

Suburbia needs more projects like this.

Here are a few satellite shots of the area, via bing and google earth. Now you’ll see why this is such a valuable location

Yes, I’ve developed a lot of real estate projects in my career, and I love seeing progress. And why shouldn’t the suburbs start benefiting from what it has to offer. Politics aside, these projects are needed for a multitude of reasons. Whether or not the original developers make money or not, the community as a whole will benefit for decades to come. And that’s what really matters here.

While taking a walk through some of the neighboring streets in Tenafly (I’m trying to get my butt into shape after hibernating all winter) I came across this home.

I’ve passed by this place a thousand times in the past 17 years while living in Tenafly, so nothing different should have caught my eye, but it did. Maybe it’s because I was walking, or maybe it’s the way the late afternoon sun was bathing itself across the front of the home. Whatever it was it caught my interest.

This isn’t your typical 1950’s Tenafly home. It’s a modern-ish 1950’s soft looking Tudor (or is it a colonial-ish home with a few Tudo details)…minus all the heavy, dark wood boards that crisscross all around the more typical looking Tudors.

Take special notice of the difference in materials and textures used here: white painted cut faced cinder-blocks on the front right, and the two tiny windows that seem to be looking at you. Mixed together with the smooth faced white stucco…it gives off a really neat look. The more I look at the pictures, the more I like it.

If this home is ever put up for sale, I see a ton of marketing opportunities. Great home!

Let me know what you think.

I’m glad I took a stroll out on Sunday, even though I missed an exciting Knicks/Miami game.

I happen to love the look of a turret on a home, if the detail fits the home correctly and just doesn’t look like an after though. Here are some examples of three east hill homes in Tenafly, where the turret is a perfect fit.